Hermit of the Forest
by Genichiro
Summary: In a Gensokyo where flight is restricted to those with wings and death is permanent, a man living in isolation runs into Rumia of the Darkness before going up against a group of people bent on killing off all the youkai in Gensokyo.
1. Hunted

_Disclaimer: Touhou is property of Team Shanghai Alice; I do not profit from this work in any way_

**Chapter 1 – Hunted**

"Eek!" came the scream of a female throughout the small cave. The scream was followed quickly by many others. Soon after came shrieks of pain and the sound of metal carving through flesh.

"Die, youkai scum!" a man shouted, his voice rolling over those of the screaming girls.

Within the chamber of a cave was the home of a small group of earth element fairies, born from the magic that had been gathered there at some point in the past. Most of the fairies were fairly small, looking like five year olds, most with deep brown hair and tan dresses. All of them were barefoot. There was another fairy, the one who took up the role of "leader," wearing a similar outfit. Unlike the others, she was larger, taking on the appearance of a ten year old. Normally, the group would be spending their time thinking of some prank to pull on travelers who happened to enter the network of caves they called home. On that day, they were looking on in horror as their leader was given the run through with a sword. The lead fairy coughed blood on the one who had injured her.

"Disgusting little freak!" the man shouted, before pulling his sword out and up the length of the fairy's body, cleaving her clothes and flesh. The broken body of the fairy hit the ground, dead. After a few moments, the body dissolved into magic sparks that spread out before fading. The man grinned with satisfaction, knowing with the leader dead, the others would not be willing to put up a fight.

"Ah!" shouted one of the fairies, who fled in fear, trying to do her best to get past the man before her. The others huddled together against the wall behind them. They looked on at the features of the man. He had shoulder length blond hair and green eyes. He was wearing a green, skin tight suit, with white plated armor over his chest, back, and shoulders, along with matching arm and shin guards and armored shoes. The armor had green trim to match the color of the suit beneath. The skin tight suit ended in fingerless gloves. In the man's right hand was a sword with a white handle to match his armor's color. The sword was dripping with the blood of the fairy he had just killed.

The man looked on at the fairy that tried to get away, moving to block her path. Before reaching the man, the fairy conjured up a small rock and threw it at the man's face as hard as she could, causing the man to scream in pain while stumbling back. The little fairy used the chance to make her escape.

"You little wench! Hunt Sign 'Earth Blast!'" the man shouted after pulling out a small slip of paper. The paper glowed for a moment before burning up. A second later, the ground beneath the fleeing fairy exploded, a shriek coming from the fairy as a result.

"That'll teach her!" the man shouted, a bruise forming on his left cheek where the rock had hit him.

"Now then, time to pick the next target..." the man said, while moving his sword back and forth. He pointed at a small fairy on the right of the group.

"Say 'bye bye!'" the man shouted, as he charged forward. The little fairies scattered at seeing the man's approach. The one he targeted tried to run as well, only to end up getting pinned to the wall by her shoulder. The fairy screamed in pain, too stunned to even think of trying to fight back. The little fairy started to cry, scared of her seemingly imminent death.

"Oh, what's wrong? Don't want to die? Well, too bad!" the man shouted, while pulling his sword out. He pulled his weapon back, ready to cleave the girl's head off.

"Earth Sign 'Rising Boulder!'" came the shout of another man. The ground crumbled apart into boulders that soon filled the air. The boulder's eclipsed the view of the newcomer, blocking out the light that came into the tunnel.

"What the! Who are you!" the armored man shouted. His answer came in the form of the boulders smashing into him into the wall. The force of the impact caused him to drop his sword. The front of his armor was dented and torn from the hits, resulting in the man screaming out in pain. After a few moments, the boulders stopped moving around, falling back to the ground from whence they came. The man stood up to look at his attacker eye to eye.

The man before him had long, black hair, black eyes, and tanned skin. He was about five foot-ten in height, and was wearing dark pants with a stone gray shirt with collar and mid-arm length sleeves, with black ties going up the middle. The man was wearing a pair of geta sandals with black tabi socks. The man's right hand and forearm was bandaged. On the palm of the man's left hand was the kanji 刀, meaning sword.

The armored man's expression quickly turned to one of horror.

"Y-you... y-you're... you're Kurome Jowa!" the hunter shouted.

"Oh, so even low level filth like yourself knows my name, huh? I guess I should feel honored, or something. Now then get out of my sight, and don't ever let me catch you hurting another youkai again!" the man named Jowa shouted.

The armored man slowly got up, and walked past Jowa. Before passing him, he pulled out a small knife he had hidden under his arm guard, and aimed for the back of Jowa's neck. A split second later, Jowa had a sword in his left hand, hanging off to the side of the armored man. The man looked on in shock for a moment, not sure what had just taken place.

"I warned you," Jowa said.

The man in armor gurgled blood as a red line formed around his neck. The man's head fell to the ground, along with his body. Jowa turned around and sighed, before the sword in his left hand disappeared into magic sparks. Jowa looked down at the one holding onto his leg. It was the fairy who had escaped. Her wings were torn and her back was burned from the explosion, but she managed to survive. Her state caught Jowa's attention as he was passing by, prompting him to enter the cave and see what was going on. The other fairies were still frightened of the man, not knowing what to think. They stayed huddled together in fear, not sure how to respond.

"It's okay, little ones, that hunter is gone now. He won't hurt you anymore," Jowa said, in a calm, relaxed voice. The other fairies calmed down a little, then they saw their friend from before, who ran out to rejoin her friends.

"You're okay!" one of the fairies shouted.

The fairy nodded, enjoying the embrace of her friends. The fairy who had been stabbed stood quietly and watched, in too much pain to do anything. She was still sobbing from nearly being killed. Jowa quietly approached the fairy.

"Are you okay?" Jowa asked.

The fairy stood still. She didn't try to run away, but she didn't try to approach Jowa, either.

"My name is Jowa, what's your name?"

"T-Tsuchiko," the injured fairy replied.

"Looks like that man did something to you before I could stop him. Could you let me see your shoulder?" Jowa asked.

Tsuchiko hesitated for a moment, but then showed Jowa her shoulder. Jowa reached into one of the pockets in his pants and pulled out a small box. He opened up up, revealing some first aid supplies within.

"This is going to hurt a little, okay?" Jowa said, while opening up a small container. Tsuchiko nodded. Jowa took a small cloth, placed some of the liquid in the container on the cloth, and used it to clean the wound. Tsuchiko winced at the pain of the cleaning salve, but got used to it after a few moments. Jowa then applied a bandage to her shoulder.

"Don't take this off until that heals, okay? Youkai or not, you're still susceptible to disease and infection, okay?" Jowa asked.

Tsuchiko nodded before joining her friends. The fairies were chatting away about what had taken place, not fully sure of what to do next. Jowa could pick out from their conversation that their leader had been killed before he could arrive. He frowned at hearing this, the thought justifying his killing the man from before.

"Be careful, okay? Try not to pull any pranks on anyone for a little while, alright?" Jowa asked.

"We'll try," Tsuchiko replied, now acting as the leader of the group.

Jowa nodded. He raised his bandaged right hand and pointed it towards the body of the man from before. Jowa focused to bring forth a fire spell to incinerate the body, leaving nothing but some pieces of the armor behind.

"Good riddance," Jowa muttered, as he made his way out of the cave.

"_It's a shame they won't heed my advice. Fairies will be fairies, though. It's almost as though they live to cause pranks on others, just as a mosquito lives by sucking on the blood of others. I hope they at least try to be careful about who they prank, though, I suppose that's a wasted thought, as well. Ozore's hunters have been more active as of late. I can't keep stopping them like this," _Jowa thought to himself. Jowa looked up above to the forest canopy, looking at the bright light shining down through the gaps in the leaves.

"I guess I better get going, before Hikaru starts to worry about me," Jowa said to himself as he made his way through the place referred to as the Forest of Magic. Jowa walked through the area for an hour on his way to his destination, looking out of any sign of wild youkai and fairies. He managed to avoid them as he made his way to a small house in the middle of a small clearing. The house was two levels. It was only big enough for a few rooms. The house was made of wood, painted a deep green to blend in with the colors of the forest. The house had a pitched roof with brown shingles, a chimney popping out from the stove in the kitchen below it. There were a few wood frame windows with a door in the center. Jowa unlocked the door and made his way to the kitchen. He was greeted by the smell of a roast cooking in the stove.

"Ah, that smells nice, after a long day of moving out and about," Jowa said.

"Where have you been! You should have been here a half-hour ago!" came a shout from a female.

Jowa rolled his eyes in response.

"Geez, Hikaru, you'd think you were my wife, or something," Jowa muttered.

"Hey, someone has to look after you!" shouted the one identified as Hikaru. Hikaru herself entered the kitchen. Her translucent, yellow wings gave her away as a fairy. She stood with the height of a ten year old, but her body was developed more like that of an older teenager, complete with a small pair of breasts. She had long, bright golden hair, currently tied up in a ponytail and matching yellow eyes with creamy, white skin. She was wearing a bright yellow, short sleeved dress, currently with a white apron over it. Under her dress was a pair of white trousers ending with a pair of yellow slipper shoes.

"Some hunter was killing off a group of fairies. I couldn't just leave them be," Jowa replied.

"Oh, I see. Were you able to save them?" Hikaru asked.

"Most of them, I was unable to save their leader. Seems she was killed before I got there."

"I see... that could make things hard for them, but I'm sure they'll bounce back. What kind of fairies were they?"

"From what I could tell, young earth elemental fairies. They already picked a new leader after I left. It's just a matter of them finding a way to move on."

"I hope they can. Uh... why do they keep doing this, anyway? What did we ever do to you humans, anyway?"

"I don't know, Hikaru. Some humans just don't like youkai, and it always seems to be the ones in power that hold such opinions."

"Yeah... well, at least you were able to stop that hunter, right?"

"I did. He won't be threatening anyone ever again."

"I see. Thank you for continuing to look out for us... oh, I better get the roast out!" Hikaru shouted, remembering why she came into the kitchen to begin with. Hikaru grabbed a pair of thermal mits and opened the stove door. She pulled out the roast, then gently set it down on the kitchen counter. The kitchen itself had wooden cabinets with stone counters and a matching stone floor and a black, iron stove. Hikaru put out the stove and closed the door to it, not wanting to heat up the house too much. Jowa went to one of the cabinets to get some plates and utensils, and the pair enjoyed the meal together. After their evening meal, Jowa helped Hikaru clean up, though the fairy eventually sent Jowa away, so she could move about in the small kitchen easier.

"Goodness, she really does like taking care of things, even after so long. I guess she got used to it. Even if she owes me her life, she doesn't have to clean up all the time," Jowa muttered to himself.

Hikaru herself came to live with Jowa several years ago. It was during a raid similar to the one Jowa had broken up earlier. Several youkai hunters from Ozore Village heard about a group of fairies causing problems for some of the travelers in the area. And were sent to kill the fairies off. Jowa had caught wind of what had taken place, and did his best to try and stop the group from their act. Hikaru was the only survivor. The pair remember the events of the day often, but never discuss it, doing their best to avoid bringing up the tragic events that took place that day.

Jowa decided to play a small game of cards with Hikaru before the pair retired for the night. The house was built with only two bedrooms. Each room had a small closet and bed, along with a pair of windows, one to a wall. Each room was on a corner of the house. There was a door between the two rooms, put in place in case of an emergency where one would have to go from one room to the next in a hurry. The door had no lock on it.

Jowa prepared to turn in for the night. He took a look out his window, and stopped when he saw a light in the forest nearby.

"A group of fairies?" Jowa muttered to himself. He was about to undress when he could faintly make out a scream.

"Another hunt!" Jowa shouted, as he made his way down the stairs and out of the house, hoping he could stop the hunters before it was too late.

Out in the forest past Jowa's house, a group of youkai hunters were chasing after a single youkai. The youkai herself was tall woman with long, blond hair and blood red eyes. She was wearing a long black skirt with a matching black vest over a white, long sleeved blouse. At the collar hung a small red ribbon with a round, red jewel on either side. In her hair was a small, red ribbon. She had on brown shoes over white, knee length socks. She had a large, black sword in her possession, currently attached to her back.

"Well, look at what we have here!" a hunter shouted.

"You really think numbers are going to change anything for you?" the youkai asked.

"Numbers can do a little, combined with my ability, they can do quite a lot," replied the lead hunter. The hunter had tanned skin, with red hair that was long on the left side and short on the right, along with blue eyes. The hunter was wearing a black, skin tight suit. He had red, armored plates over his chest, back, and shoulders, along with matching arm and shin guards and armored shoes. His armored plates had black trim, and he was carrying a pair of swords with handles to match the color of his armor. The rest of the hunters with him wore the standard hunter outfit, with dark green armor over black, skin tight suits, each equipped with a single sword. There were a total of ten hunters, including their leader.

"You seem to be quite the cocky one!" the youkai shouted.

"Oh, I can be. I know all about you. Rumia of the darkness, able to manipulate darkness in any way conceivable, right?" the lead hunter asked.

"Is that so? My reputation and ability aren't a secret," the youkai replied, "So, before I kill you, at least let me know the name of my midnight snack."

"And I'm the cocky one, hm? Shin Takashi is my name; the last name you'll ever know," the hunter answered.

"Very well, Takashi. Prepare yourself!" Rumia shouted, while throwing a ball of dark energy at the group. Takashi and most of the hunters split off, with one taking the orb head on. The foolish man attempted to swat it away with his sword, only to have the sphere envelop him and explode, blowing away the front of his armor and ripping his chest wide open. The man was dead before he hit the ground.

"I would advise the rest of you to not try doing that," Takashi said, frowning in disappointment of the fallen hunter's foolish actions.

The other hunters nodded, spreading themselves out and surrounding Rumia.

"You think that's going to work? Darkness Sign 'Shockwave!'" Rumia shouted, her spell sending out a wave of dark energy around her. The hunters surrounding Rumia were knocked back. Takashi was the only one able to get out of the radius of the blast. Rumia saw one of the hunters in front of her, and drew her sword, preparing to strike the man down. The hunter attempted to pull his sword to black, barely managing to get it out in time to block Rumia's sword swing. He noticed it seemed as though Rumia's sword and gone straight through him. He was horrified to see his sword break in two, while a line formed around his body before it fell into two pieces. The man coughed up blood as his life faded from him. Rumia gave him mercy in the form of a dark energy sphere to the face, smashing the man's head.

"What kind of nightmare is this!" one of the other hunters shouted.

The group kept a good distance from Rumia, not wanting to try to engage her in close combat. Rumia picked her next target, ready to do away with the those troubling her.

"Midnight 'Total Eclipse!'" Rumia shouted. Rumia cast a large laser formed of dark energy from her sword, pointing it at one of the hunters before her.

"Hunt Sign 'Light Shield!'" the hunter shouted, a barrier of light forming before him. Rumia's laser smashed into the hunter's barrier, quickly smashing through it like a rock smashing through a window. The laser went straight through the hunter, burning away the middle of his body. He hit the ground dead, burnt blood dribbling out his mouth.

"So you have some power, do you? Alright then, I'll skip the warm up and go straight for the main course! Fear Sign 'Deadly Storm!'" Takashi shouted, the spell card in his hand glowing for a moment before burning up. Moments later, a barrage of lasers came down around Rumia, forcing her to switch to being on the defensive. Rumia was careful to dodge the lasers, seeing one have enough power to burn through her clothing with a near miss. Rumia lost sight of Takashi by the end of the spell, but was able to sense his approach, quickly pulling up her sword to block his.

"So, your sword is better reinforced, is it?" Rumia asked.

"It helps when dealing with powerful monsters such as yourself," Takashi replied before jumping back. Takashi brought his sword to bear upon Rumia, who was quick to block again. Rumia pulled back and prepared to cleave Takashi in two, only to have him block, the hunter proving his weapons would not be broken so easily. Rumia smirked and pulled her blade back, blocking a strike aimed for her midsection. Rumia reversed her swing and took aim for Takashi's head, prompting the man to roll to the side, while while swinging for Rumia's side. Rumia shifted back to avoid the strike, and brought her sword down upon Takashi. Takashi rolled away, and jumped back to his feet, looking to hit Rumia in the back. Rumia ducked the blow, and swung around, aiming for Takashi's mid section. Rumia left a scratch in Takashi's armor, but didn't make it through to his body. Takashi pulled back to block, attempting to knock Rumia's blade away. Then he went to send his sword into her side again. Rumia side stepped, and attempted to hit Takashi on the head with the handle of her weapon. Takashi moved forward, letting his back armor take the blow. The strike had enough power to put a dent in Takashi's armor. Takashi turned around, a spell card in his free hand.

"Malice 'Blast Kill!'" Takashi shouted. Takashi let the card hang in the air, the card burning more slowly than usual for a spell. Takashi quickly rolled away from the card. As soon as it completed burning, it exploded, knocking Rumia back.

"Guh!" Rumia grunted in pain.

Takashi rushed Rumia, looking to get her while she was vulnerable. Takashi brought both his swords to bear on Rumia, only for Rumia to regain her footing at the last second, and make a powerful swing with her sword, knocking Takashi back, and fracturing one of his swords. Another of the hunters attempted to give Rumia the run through from behind, only to find Rumia's sword going through his body.

"Guf!" the hunter shouted, before he started coughing on his own blood. Rumia ripped her sword through the man, pulling it out through his neck. The man hit the ground dead, blood still spurting out of his neck wound. The other hunters backed down again, quickly realizing just how out classed they were.

"Wonderful! Now this is what I call a fight!" Takashi shouted, before discarding his damaged sword. "Round two!"

Takashi charged at Rumia again. This time, Rumia channeled her magic into her sword, giving it more power than it had before. Takashi aimed for Rumia's neck, only to have his strike blocked. Rumia answered back by going for Takashi's midsection. Takashi was able to block, but his sword took some damage, a small chip appearing where Rumia's blade hit it. Takashi managed to avoid Rumia's next swing, looking to deliver one to the youkai's back. Rumia dodged forward, while swinging her blade against Takashi's. The force of the strike shattered his blade, sending the top half flying off behind him. One of the shards managed to scratch his cheek, drawing a small drop of blood. Takashi went to dodging Rumia's strikes, pulling out another spell card.

"Malice 'Blast Kill!'" Takashi shouted, attempting to get Rumia with the same spell as before.

"Not this time!" Rumia shouted, rushing past the card towards Takashi. Takashi smiled as he jumped over Rumia, towards the card. Rumia was surprised until she saw the card was a fake, simply burning away.

"Wicked Sign 'Power Constrictor!'" Takashi shouted. Takashi placed the card on Rumia's hair ribbon. When the spell activated, it caused the ribbon to glow. Within moments, tentacles of magical energy appeared, taking the form of lightning. The magical energy attacked Rumia, sapping out her power.

"Gah!" Rumia shouted, dropping her sword as a result of the pain she was in. The sword disappeared, Rumia losing the power needed to sustain it's form.

"Excellent. That should take care of that. You underestimated me, youkai. You will not get the chance to make that mistake again!" Takashi shouted. Takashi walked over to the body of one of his fallen hunters, and took his sword. Takashi walked over to Rumia, who's body was starting to change to that of a child. All the while, Rumia was screaming out in pain.

"I'm going to make your death nice and slow, and painful!" Takashi shouted, pulling back his sword to swing at Rumia's arm, intending to sever it.

"Die!" Takashi shouted.

"Fire Sign: 'Blast!'" a voice shouted from the distance. Following the shout, a series of fireballs appeared, knocking back one of the other hunters, and forcing Takashi to jump back from Rumia. A few moments later, someone rushed over top of Rumia, landing just past her. The lightning coming from the ribbon turned sealing amulet ceased, the ribbon splitting in half and falling to the ground. Rumia's childish body quickly returned to its proper form.

"Still attacking the innocent, huh, Takashi?" the man who appeared asked.

"Jowa!" Takashi shouted, "Meddling again, I see."

"And I'll keep doing so until you and Baku call off these hunts!" Jowa shouted.

"I don't have time for this. Get him! Take them both out before that youkai can regain her strength!" Takashi shouted.

"I would advise not listening to him. I don't want to kill any of you, but I will if I have to," Jowa stated.

As Jowa expected, the group of hunters ignored him, under the firm belief that their numbers would give them an advantage against a human and a weakened youkai. The hunter nearest to Jowa pulled out a spell card.

"Hunt Sign 'Pointed Barrage!'" the hunter shouted. The card quickly burnt up. In it's place, numerous arrows appeared, heading straight for Jowa. The 刀 on Jowa's left hand glowed, before a staff appeared in it. Jowa spun the staff around, deflecting the entire barrage of arrows aimed for him. The hunter then charged at Jowa, with his sword drawn. He struck at Jowa under the assumption the staff he was using was made of wood. He was surprised to find it was made of steel when his sword hit it. Jowa quickly knocked the sword out of the hunter's hand and pinned him to the ground. Jowa aimed for the man's throat and crushed it under his staff. The hunter was killed as soon as his neck was broken.

Next to Jowa, Rumia was still shaking, a lot of power having been drained by the constrictor charm. Rumia saw the hunter hit by Jowa's fireballs attempt to get up and strike out at her. Rumia summoned forth what remained of her energy, and used it to deliver a crushing blow to the hunter, blowing his chest open and sending him crashing into one of the other hunters. Rumia watched as the other hunter pushed the body of his dead comrade aside. Rumia jumped on top of him. Out of magic to use, Rumia settled for smashing his face in with her bare hands. The man's head was reduced to crushed, bloody pile. Rumia pulled back her blood soaked hand, and looked back to Jowa.

Jowa had the last pair of lesser hunters right in front of him. Both of them had spell cards in their hands, ready to attack.

"I would stop if I were you. You forfeit your lives the moment you use those," Jowa said.

"Drop dead! Power Sign 'Wind Crusher!" the first hunter shouted.

"Power Sign 'Fire Storm!'" the other hunter shouted.

Jowa sighed out loud, looking at what was sent at him. The first hunter sent out a large ball of compressed wind, while the other sent out a streaming barrage of small fireball danmaku.

"Lightning Sign 'Thunder Strike!'" Jowa shouted, a 雷 glowing through the bandages on his right palm. A series of lasers emerged before Jowa. Jowa was able to duck and weave through the projectiles sent in his direction, while the lasers he sent out pierced through the bodies of the pair of hunters before him. The second hunter took a laser to his face, blowing his head off, leaving the rest of his body to be torn apart by the other lasers. The first hunter attempted to dodge through the lasers, managing to get away with only losing an arm. The area around his arm socket went numb from the elemental nature of the laser. The hunter looked up at Jowa, a look of contempt in his eyes.

"I warned you," Jowa said.

The other hunter charged forward in rage, hoping to avenge his partner, only to get a sword going through his neck. The hunter coughed up blood in surprise, forgetting Jowa also used swords to attack.

"You had a chance to retire from the life of being a hunter and live out the rest of your days in peace. A shame you wasted that chance. May you find peace in the afterlife," Jowa stated, watching as the hunter fell before him.

Takashi wasn't surprised to see the rest of his men fall as quickly as they did. He was actually expecting it. He saw the others distracted Jowa long enough for him to rush at the weakened Rumia. He grabbed her quickly, pulling up a sword to her throat. Jowa saw the move, but couldn't respond fast enough.

"Too bad, Jowa! Looks like you failed! All that effort, all for nothing!" Takashi shouted, as he prepared to sever Rumia's head.

Jowa knew he had to act fast. A 速 symbol glowed on the bottom of his foot as he did a lightning fast dash towards Rumia and Takashi. Jowa was able to get Rumia out of Takashi's grasp, but took a strike to his side, leaving a gash in his gut.

"Oh ho, that's a new one. Haven't seen you use that one before," Takashi said.

"Yeah... I'm full of surprises," Jowa gasped, feeling the pain of his wound. He gripped the side of his body, feeling the blood coming out and and staining his clothes.

"Well, as fun as that was, I believe it's time to send you two on your way to the afterlife!" Takashi shouted.

"Not quite, Ice Sign 'Blinding Blizzard!'" Jowa shouted, a 水 and 風 symbol glowing in turn through the bandages on his right palm. Within seconds, a dense barrage of snow danmaku appeared, obscuring Jowa and Rumia from view. Takashi stood back, knowing he couldn't dodge through it. Within a few moments, the spell ended. There was no sign of Jowa and Rumia afterward.

"Escaping again, eh Jowa? That's fine, then. Just gives me more time to think of how I'll torture you when I finally get my hands on you," Takashi said, sheathing his sword. Takashi made his way through the forest, leaving the bodies of his comrades behind. As he walked along, he caught sight of a fairy. She had the body of a small child, green hair and green eyes with a dress made of leaves. She was looking around, curious to see what had been going on. Takashi quickly drew his sword, slashing the wings off the fairy and watching her fall to the ground.

"Wahh!" the fairy shouted, crying tears from the pain she was in, blood dripping out of her back.

"At least I get a consolation prize!" Takashi shouted, before plowing his blade through the fairies shoulder, resulting in her shrieking.

"Did you happen to see anything?" Takashi asked in a sickeningly sweet tone.

"I-I didn't see anything! I just wanted to see what the loud noise was all about!" shouted the fairy.

"You didn't happen to see a man and a woman come by through here, then?" asked Takashi.

"N-no. Please, let me go!" shouted the fairy, "I promise I won't..."

The fairy was cut off as Takashi smashed her head in with a stomp. The fairy's body went limp before dissolving into sparks of magic and fading away.

"And here I was hoping to have my luck against him change," Takashi muttered to himself as he continued along. The other fairies and youkai that saw the act made sure to give Takashi plenty of room to himself, not wanting to meet the same fate as the fairy from before.

Jowa and Rumia were hiding in a small grove nearby. Jowa was panting heavily from his injury, his continued use of magic wearing him out further.

"Are you okay?" Jowa asked of Rumia.

"I... I'm fine. Tired but fine. You, on the other hand... we need to get you help right away," Rumia replied.

"No... need... hold on a second..." Jowa muttered. Jowa took off his shirt, exposing his gash to the night air. Jowa then took his right hand, a 火 symbol glowing in his palm. Jowa cast his hand over the wound. He grunted in pain as a fire spell cauterized the wound, preventing further blood loss while killing off any bacteria that may have entered.

"That... should do for now..." Jowa said, while standing himself back up. He stumbled a bit, but was still able to walk. He looked around for any sign of Takashi. After seeing none, he dropped back down beneath the brush.

"We should wait here for a while, just in case. That man is rather stubborn when it comes to going after his targets. He might still be around," Jowa said.

"If you insist. In my current state, I can't fight him off. Tell me, though, are you a youkai, or a human?" Rumia asked.

"I'm a human."

"Then why? Why did you save me?"

"Why not? I don't like it when the innocent are pushed around."

"Even though we sometimes eat humans, and kill off your innocent?"

"I've never met a youkai that killed someone who was truly innocent. I've seen youkai scare children before. I've seen youkai start skirmishes with those they wanted to test their strength on. I've seen youkai eat a human after that human lost a challenge, a challenge the human started. I've seen, and been a victim of many pranks pulled by youkai before, but I've never seen a youkai attack just for the sake of attacking."

"I've razed villages before, you know. Tell me, how innocent is that?"

"You did it after you were attacked, right? After your friends were killed? Did you really do it unprovoked?"

"Yes, I did it as a form of retaliation. You're right, I've never attacked just because. Even I enjoy pulling the occasional prank on a traveler, and find great fun in fighting a strong person, but I've never just attacked for no reason."

"Then you're innocent, as far as I'm concerned."

"You're a strange person."

"Yeah, I guess."

"So, you always go around like this, saving people?"

"Something like that. I keep an ear open for what those hunters are doing. They come from Ozore Village. Have you heard of that place?"

"That place, huh? I've been near the village before, but I've never entered it. They won't let any youkai in, and often kill any who try on the spot. I've seen the occasional fairy sneak in by flying over the wall around the village, but I've yet to see any return. That's about all I know of the village."

"I see. That village has one of the strongest hunter groups around. I lived there some time ago, before the hunters started to take charge of it. It used to be a nice place to live, a nice place to meet people, a nice place to start a family... well, anyway, it's not like that now. Ever since their current leader, Utsugizaki Baku, came to power, the village has been run by the hunters. Nothing changed for the human population, of course. But all the youkai living in the village were either thrown out or executed, most without any kind of notice. Even half-breeds were killed off as abominations. Youkai don't even wander close to there now. I fear for any that do."

"So why do you care, anyway? It's good for humans, isn't it?"

"I've seen their methods before. I wouldn't wish such a thing on anyone, human or youkai."

"Is that what motivates you, then?"

"I have my reasons."

"And just how long have you been doing this?"

"For several years now. As you can see, I've made some 'friends' along the way."

"Yes, that Takashi individual. You appeared to know each other."

"We do, unfortunately. I generally avoid having hatred for others, but that man might just be one of the few exceptions. I can't even call him a man, more like a monster disguised as a human. The way he attacks youkai on his hunts... he actually enjoys the torture of others. I've tried to stop him several times, but every time I get a chance, something like this happens to me," Jowa explained, while pointing to the gash in his side. Jowa slipped his shirt back on, now that the wound on his side was properly sealed. His clothes were still bloody, but they were better than wearing nothing at all.

"I guess you do have a bad history with him, then. Well, I wish you luck in dealing with him. I believe it's been long enough now, I don't think that man is coming back," Rumia said as she got up.

"Thank you for before," Rumia said, before starting off. She didn't get too far before she tripped and fell, appearing to be completely exhausted.

"You played it off pretty well, but I knew from the start you were completely worn out. That was no ordinary spell he had you under. I've seen him use it several times. It's a very powerful sealing spell. He uses it on the strong youkai he meets to weaken them for torture. It's not something you can just walk off easily."

"Uh... figures as much..."

"My home is here in the forest. It's not too far from here. You can stay the night, if you wish. It'll give you some time to recover," Jowa said as he walked over to Rumia. He ended up stumbling himself, the strain of the fight catching up to him.

"Seems like I'm not the only one who needs help."

"We can help each other along, then. We should get going, before another hunter squad comes out here."

Rumia hesitated for a moment. She knew it would be unwise to stay out in the open in her current state. She also knew she couldn't just go and trust someone she had only met a short time ago. Rumia reflected on what she would do for a few moments, before deciding she would go with Jowa.

"Alright, I'll go with you, but if you try to do something to me, don't think I won't hesitate to kill you. Even if you lead me into a trap, you're guaranteed to die before I do," Rumia said.

"If that's how it is, then. Don't worry, though, I promise you, no harm will come to use under my care."

Rumia humphed, while getting herself back up. She felt a little dizzy and disoriented, but was able to stay on her feet. Jowa was in the same situation. Jowa led the way through the forest, keeping, an eye out for any other hunters. After walking for a little while, Jowa nearly stumbled, Rumia catching him.

"You humans are so weak; that wound took a lot out of you," Rumia said.

"Weak or not, a group of us were about to kill you. You shouldn't underestimate the power of us. We can do a lot when we put our minds to it," Jowa replied.

"If you say so. Come on, just tell me where to go," Rumia said, before guiding Jowa's arm over her neck.

"Being carried back to my house by the youkai I just saved... what a world this is."

"Don't read into it too much. Just look at it as my thanks for saving me, okay?"

Jowa nodded and lead the pair to his house. A worried Hikaru was waiting out front, pacing around and wondering where Jowa went off to.

"Jowa!" Hikaru shouted upon seeing the pair.

"Oh, hey Hikaru," Jowa replied.

The fairy ran up to Jowa and Rumia, ignoring the presence of the other youkai.

"I was worried sick about you! Why did you go and run off like that!" Hikaru shouted.

"You know me, always poking into the business of others. Couldn't sleep while a hunt was going on nearby," Jowa replied.

"You need to sleep! Look at you! You got yourself hurt again, didn't you? Gah! What am I going to do with you!" Hikaru shouted.

"Is she your wife, or something?" Rumia asked with a deadpan look on her face.

"She certainly acts like it," Jowa replied, bearing the same expression. Hikaru continued rambling on about why Jowa should be more careful before she finally took note of Rumia.

"And you could have died and... oh, wait, who are you?" Hikaru asked.

"A little slow, aren't you?" Rumia asked, still bearing the same expression as before.

"Hey, just because I'm a fairy doesn't mean I'm slow! I just get so caught up worrying about Jowa; I sometimes forget to notice things!" Hikaru shouted in response.

"Uh... Hikaru, this is Rumia, Rumia, this is Hikaru," Jowa said.

"Oh, nice to meet you, Rumia. Thank you for helping Jowa along. He can be rather hopeless sometimes," Hikaru said.

"That one hurt..." Jowa muttered.

"Not as much as this!" Hikaru shouted, before hitting Jowa on his injured side.

"Gah!" Jowa shouted.

"Geez, you really did get yourself hurt again. Was it that Takashi guy again?" Hikaru asked.

"Yeah, it was," Jowa replied.

"That guy... if I ever see him again, I'll roast him!" Hikaru shouted. Her eyes started to glow a faint blue, with sparks of electricity arching from her fingertips.

"Easy, now, don't use your powers when under emotional stress. You remember what happened the last time, right?" Jowa asked.

"I rebuilt the kitchen, and we're outside, anyway, but alright," Hikaru said, calming down a little, her eyes returning to normal as a result.

"Huh, a fairy the controls electric current, eh?" Rumia asked.

"Yep! I'm pretty good with it, but sometimes accidents happen," Hikaru replied.

"Like your kitchen?" Rumia asked.

"That only happened once," Hikaru replied, while bearing a deadpan look of her own.

"Let's go inside, now. I think a good night's rest would do good for us all," Jowa stated.

"I am tired; you gave me a scare when I found you weren't there. Let's get inside, then. And get you patched up a little. Is, uh... Rumia, right? Is Rumia staying?" Hikaru asked.

"She's staying. She needs to rest, too. Those hunters really did a number on her," Jowa answered.

"Just for the night. I don't need that long to recover. It was just some humans," Rumia said, while looking away from the others.

Hikaru led the group inside. Rumia set Jowa down on a chair, while Hikaru gathered some bandages and soaps to clean the wound. The little fairy quickly took care of Jowa, patching him as quickly as possible.

"You seem rather capable," Rumia said.

"As many times as he's come home with some kind of terrible injury, I've gotten much practice. If it wasn't for that fire spell, he probably would have died of blood loss or infection long before now," Hikaru said.

"I see. So, you really do go and do this kind of thing often, don't you?" Rumia asked.

"Not often enough, given all the times I've been too late. There are times when I wonder if the world would be better off if I just razed that village to the ground," Jowa said.

"You won't though, will you? Can't kill all those families you used to live with, right?" Rumia asked.

"Yeah. Honestly, I don't like killing. It's something I do only as a last resort. I've given so many of those hunters a chance to get away and leave, but they always have to try one more time to get to their targets," Jowa replied.

"That's what hatred does to people. I've seen it happen many times in my life. Some people will do anything to satisfy the desires born from it. That's something else you humans have a problem with; you're too weak to emotions," Rumia said.

"Maybe, but I've met plenty of youkai that were the same. Anyway, I suppose we should try and get some sleep tonight. Hikaru, could you get the spare futon for Rumia?" Jowa asked.

Hikaru nodded before heading off.

"My house isn't too big, as you can see, but there's plenty of room for you to sleep in here," Jowa said.

"Thank you," Rumia replied.

Hikaru came back and set the futon out on the floor for Rumia.

"The bathroom is over there if you need it, okay?" Jowa said, while pointing over to a door near the kitchen.

"Sleep well, Rumia," Hikaru said.

"Rest well," Jowa added.

"Goodnight to you both," Rumia replied.

The group of three set off on a night of peaceful rest, wondering what the next day would bring, while being oblivious to what took place elsewhere.

In Ozore Village, Takashi had returned from his night. He didn't run into any other youkai while away. The pair of guards, both in the standard green armored hunter outfit, allowed Takashi passage into the village. Takashi made his way to the center of the village, towards a larger building that served as the Town Hall. The building was finished with white wooden panels on the exterior. The building itself was laid out as three separate buildings combined into one. The main building was the meeting hall, the second building was the personal chambers for the village leader and his staff. The third building was the meeting place for the youkai hunters. The section was a more recent addition to the town hall building, being added on after the current leader came to power. Takashi was greeted by another pair of guards before being allowed to enter the hunter building. Takashi continued further along to the leader's personal chambers. Within sat the leader of the village, Utsugizaki Baku. Baku had long, platinum blond hair with blue eyes and tanned skin. His hair was tied back in a ponytail. He was wearing a black kimono with stone gray hakama pants and straw sandals with white tabi socks. Baku turned to face Takashi upon his entry. Takashi knelt down before Baku, before looking him straight in the eyes.

"Did you succeed in killing Rumia of the Darkness?" Baku asked.

"I did not; Jowa appeared at the last moment, just as I had used the sealing spell," Takashi replied.

"Jowa, hm? That man is rather relentless, isn't he? Did you at least kill him?"

"I only wounded him; he managed to escape me again."

"And he's just as slippery as ever, I see," Baku said, before walking up to Takashi. Baku delivered a kick to Takashi's face, knocking him back across the floor and bloodying his face.

"I am tired of hearing of Jowa's exploits! I just got finished hearing about how he killed another hunter while he was going after a den of fairies! Does this man exist everywhere? Is he a phantom? He bleeds, doesn't he? So why can't you kill him!" Baku shouted.

"My apologies, Lord Baku, I am trying my best," Takashi replied as he set himself back to his previous position. Baku sat himself back down, though he continued to bear a scowl.

"Do not forget what we're trying to achieve, Takashi. I will not let my plan fall apart due to the actions of a single man," Baku said.

"He will be dealt with, my lord. He is only human. He will slip up eventually, and when he does, I'll be there to gut him myself," Takashi replied.

"So you've said, many a time. Do well to avoid failing again."

"Yes, my lord."

Baku dismissed Takashi, sending him on his way before returning to his own work.

"Soon, very soon, I'll have all that I need, and then my plan will finally come to fruition," Baku said to himself, while looking over a scroll he was working on, a scroll with the details for what he had in mind for the region known as Gensokyo.


	2. Decision

_Disclaimer: Touhou Project is property of Team Shanghai Alice; I do not profit from this work in any way_

_A/N: Sorry for the delay; writing drama is fun, living it is not_

**Chapter 2 – Decision**

The night passed by at Jowa's house peacefully. The youkai of the forest rarely disturb Jowa's household. From time to time, there are passing fairies that like to get the attention of those present for fun. There have been a couple times when youkai have tried to break into the house, only to be stopped by the barrier spells Jowa put in place for keeping out the hunters. Hikaru was the first to wake. She often was, as she took the role of housekeeper. She put on one of her dresses and trousers, tied her hair up into a ponytail, and made her way to the kitchen. On her way, she noticed Rumia, reminding her of the events that had unfolded during the previous night. Rumia had stripped herself down to her undergarments, consisting of bra made of wraps and a pair of bloomers. Her dress was casually thrown off on one of the chairs. Rumia herself was hanging out of the futon she had been given, with the bedding only covering her left leg. Hikaru giggled at the sight, moving over to replace the cover over her guest. As soon as she approached, Rumia suddenly woke, grabbed Hikaru's leg, and pulled her down to the ground.

"Eek!" Hikaru shrieked.

"Who dares to disturb me... oh, wait a minute. This isn't my home in the forest," Rumia muttered, sounding only half awake.

"Let go! Let go! Let go!" Hikaru shouted, finding herself unable to get out of Rumia's strong grip.

Rumia mumbled something incoherent to herself before drifting back to sleep, letting Hikaru go in the process.

"Maybe it's better if I just leave her like that. Yeah, if she gets cold, or something, I'm sure she'll cover herself back up. Yep," Hikaru said aloud as she got herself back to preparing breakfast. The little fairy decided she would make some scrambled eggs for everyone, since it was something quick, easy, and filling. Hikaru went over to the metal cooking range. She used a bit of her magic to start up the heat source, consisting of a mini magical reactor that recycled magic over and over, converting it to heat in the process. Hikaru used a small amount of magic, so as not to have too much heat, not wanting to burn everyone's meal. Hikaru turned to go down to the cellar, the entrance located just outside a door in the back of the kitchen that led outside. Hikaru grabbed a small basket full of eggs and made her way back up to the kitchen to prepare cooking the meal.

The smell of the food cooking was enough to get Jowa to rise out of bed. He still felt a little sore from the previous night, but shook it off as he dressed into some fresh clothes and made his way to the kitchen.

"What smells good in here?" Jowa asked.

"Hey, hey, it's not done until it's done! Go wait outside, you, and no trying to sample anything!" Hikaru shouted upon seeing Jowa attempt to enter the kitchen.

"Yes, mam," Jowa said with a sarcastic undertone. Hikaru humphed at the comment before going back to work.

"_She takes cooking as seriously as other fairies take pranks,"_ Jowa thought to himself as he made his way into the living area. He looked down to see Rumia exposed on the floor. Jowa blushed a little at the sight.

"I should cover her up a little. I just hope she doesn't think I'm some kind of pervert for doing so," Jowa muttered to himself, as walked over to Rumia, unaware of what had happened when Hikaru tried to do the same thing. As soon as Jowa had managed to grab part of the futon, the youkai pulled at Jowa's right hand. She was surprised when the bandaged hand collapsed on itself in her grip. She had managed to grab something hard concealed by the bandages before her hand slipped.

"Wha-what in the world!" Rumia shouted, suddenly full awake in surprise.

"Um, uh, sorry about that. It's just that you were kind of exposed there, and I wanted to cover you back up and all... he he," Jowa said, while slowly backing up.

"You weren't thinking of doing something perverted, were you?"

"W-wha? Of course not! I'm a gentleman! I would never do something to a cute girl without her express permission!"

"You men are all the same. See a beautiful youkai like this, and then you lose all common sense."

"I was just covering you back up."

"Is that so? Well, that's good then, because if you tried to do anything else, I'd rip off that which makes you man."

Jowa had a look of fear on his face at the thought, quickly noting how easily Rumia could have reached out and grabbed a certain part of his anatomy. Jowa gave his youkai guest plenty of space to herself.

"So, uh, would you like something else to wear? I can have Hikaru wash your dress for you, if you wish," Jowa asked.

"Do you have something else suitable?" Rumia asked.

"Yes, I do. Here, follow me," Jowa said, while gesturing Rumia to follow him. Rumia did so, following Jowa up the stairs to his bedroom. Rumia made no effort to cover her undergarments from view, knowing her threat to Jowa was all the protection she really needed. Jowa opened up his closet for her. On one side were Jowa's outfits, most of them the same thing with a few other outfits that appeared to be for special occasions. The other half consisted of several dresses, most of them variations on the same basic theme, with some more ornate dresses at the end of the row.

"Why do you have women's clothing in here? These appear rather large for your friend down stairs," Rumia said.

"Oh, they, uh, belonged to someone who used to live here," Jowa said.

"I see," Rumia said to herself, opting not to pry into the issue, as it appeared to cause Jowa distress. Rumia picked out a dark red dress with pink ribbons.

"Is this one okay?" Rumia asked.

Jowa stared for a second lost in thought. An image of that red dress on its previous owner came to mind, leaving him unresponsive.

"Jowa? Can you hear me? Is this dress okay?" Rumia asked, in a more stern tone of voice.

"Hm? Oh, yes, that dress is just fine. Really, you may borrow any of the dresses here, except for the more formal ones. Would you like a pair of trousers to go with it?" Jowa asked.

"No, this will do. I don't like wearing trousers unless there is a pressing need for me to do so," Rumia replied, while loosening the ribbons on the dress to free it from the hanger it was on. Rumia then slipped the dress over herself, tying up the ribbons going down the side and the ties in the front, but couldn't reach the ties in the back.

"Here, let me help you with those," Jowa said, walking behind Rumia to fix the ties for her. Rumia was a little apprehensive at first, not liking the idea of letting anyone simply walk over behind her. She gave Jowa a glare as he was walking, making him stop in his tracks.

"If you don't feel comfortable with me doing it, I could ask Hikaru to take care of it for you," Jowa said in response.

Rumia sighed to herself.

"It's okay, you can do it, but don't try anything," Rumia said in a stern tone.

Jowa nodded and Rumia turned around, showing her back to him. Rumia moved her hair out of the way, allowing Jowa to get to the ties. Jowa blushed a little while taking care of them, again thinking of the dress's previous owner. After a few moments, Jowa finished, prompting Rumia to turn around again.

"I didn't tie them too tight, did I?" Jowa asked.

"No, you didn't. It's tight enough not to feel like it will fall off, but loose enough to not feel restricting," Rumia replied.

Jowa closed his closet and turned to lead the pair down the stairs. Hikaru was finished with cooking the eggs, having made her return from the cellar with a bottle of milk. Jowa put up the futon Rumia was using and set up a small table. Hikaru set down plates for everyone, and a glass for everyone with the bottle of milk in the middle. The group knelt down, gave their thanks for the meal, and enjoyed Hikaru's cooking. After a few minutes, the group finished their meal, prompting Hikaru to start cleaning up. Rumia offered her help, so as not to be a rude guest, but Hikaru refused, taking care of cleaning up on her own. After Hikaru finished cleaning up after the meal. She grabbed Rumia's dress and set herself about to washing it.

"Please be gentle with that; it is one of my favorites," Rumia said.

"I will, don't worry. Your dress is safe with me!" Hikaru shouted before getting her clothes washing tools together and sitting outside on the back porch, where she usually took care of the laundry.

"Well, I suppose I should get going. I have to bring money and food in here somehow," Jowa said, before grabbing his socks and sandals.

"If I may ask, what is it that you do?" Rumia asked.

"I run a small travel stand near a path that's frequented by the travelers of the forest. I also run a small tavern at night around the night of the full moon."

"I see. I think I've heard of it before. I don't believe I've ever frequented your stand before, though. You don't really look familiar."

"I don't think I've seen you before, either. Well, you're welcome to join, if you like. I don't know if you're in good enough shape to leave, but you'll have to at least wait until your dress dries before leaving, right? Might as well have something to do the pass the time."

"I suppose sitting around here and doing nothing would not be a pleasant way to wait. I'll join you," Rumia replied.

Jowa smiled and made his way out the kitchen door and further off to the side of the house. He wheeled his travel stand over by the entrance of the cellar, making his way down to fetch what he needed for the day.

"I'm heading out now, Hikaru. I'll try to be back home in time for dinner tonight," Jowa said.

"Don't go overexerting yourself. You need to let that wound heal before you get yourself into another fight, okay?" Hikaru asked.

"Alright, alright. I'll avoid fighting for the next couple of days, but don't blame it on me if I end up getting in one anyway. You know how trouble has a way of finding it's way to me," Jowa replies.

"Yes, yes, I know. Now off with you... oh, is Rumia going with you?" Hikaru asked.

"I am," Rumia replied.

"Keep him out of fights, please. His heart is bigger than his brain. He'll leap into one without any regard for his own safety," Hikaru stated.

"I'll see what I can do," Rumia replied in a sarcastic tone. Hikaru didn't catch it.

"See you later, Hikaru," Jowa said before setting off. After making his way from the house a set distance, he pulled out a spell card.

"What do you need that for?" Rumia asked.

"Disguise. As you saw last night, I'm a little too well known. However... Nue Sign 'Phase Shift!'" Jowa shouts. After the card burns up, Jowa's body begins to glow, obscuring his form for a moment. When the light dies down, Jowa's appearance is completely different. He now sports long, dirty blond hair tied back in a ponytail, blue eyes, and white skin. He's wearing a blue kimono with black hakama pants and a pair of geta sandals with white tabi.

"No one knows who Kuki the shopkeeper is," Jowa said.

"I see. Interesting spell. Where did you learn it from?" Rumia asked.

"From some youkai I helped once. They said it's been passed around from youkai to youkai. No one knows who came up with it, or what it's based on, though it's said to be a copy of the abilities of the legendary Nue itself, hence the name," Jowa replied.

"There are those who pass around rather unique tales. I wouldn't give much thought to many of them, but that spell is helpful regardless."

"It helps me to bring in resources, as well as allow me entrance into the village without fear of being killed. Even if someone suspected who I was, this spell won't break until either I use it again to change back, or I am killed."

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to pass it on to me?"

"I could. I doubt you'd tell any of the hunters about it. It's considered taboo to teach the spell to humans; I guess they thought I was a special exception for saving them."

"So your job isn't so thankless, is it?"

"I look at it as it's own reward. This is just a convenient perk."

Rumia nodded as the pair continued into the forest. After making it to a well traveled path, Jowa set the brakes on his food cart, and set up his shop. After waiting for a while, no one had made their way through the area.

"I take it you don't get too much business out here?" Rumia asked.

"Hm, not from humans. Plenty of youkai, though. Just have to be careful with trickster fairies and anyone that could create an illusion. I got tricked many times over when I first started this business," Jowa replied.

"That's not too surprising, really. I can imagine you would get tricked many times."

"Oh, here comes one of my regulars."

A youkai approached down the path. She had short, blond hair, yellow eyes, and white skin. She was wearing a long sleeved white dress with a blue cloth with a white pattern going down the middle of the back and front. She was wearing a pair of slipper shoes with a blue ring around the ankle. She also had a hat with yellow amulets covering it hiding a pair of fox ears to go with the nine fox tails she had.

"Ah, greetings, Miss Ran," Jowa said.

"Hello, Kuki," the fox youkai, Ran, replied.

Rumia looked Ran over studying her features, trying to get an idea of what kind strength she possessed. She could feel an ominous power coming from the fox youkai, a power strong enough to earn respect.

"You're no ordinary youkai," Rumia said.

"I'm anything but ordinary. You... you're Rumia of the Darkness, correct?" Ran asked.

"You're rather sharp. You know about me, but I don't know anything about you outside of your name," Rumia replied.

"My master keeps an eye on what takes place throughout Gensokyo. She keeps tabs on anyone she believes to be of significance. Whether that value is derived from power or political position is on her own personal whims," Ran explained.

"You serve a master? She must be quite powerful to keep you under her wing," Rumia replied.

"She is the strongest youkai in all of Gensokyo, and knows more about the land than any other. The only beings capable of beating her in a straight one on one match are the Yama, and only in Higan, where they have the advantage," Ran stated.

"I'd like to try to fight someone like that," Rumia muttered to herself.

"I wouldn't, if I were you. She doesn't suffer fools lightly. Those who stand in line against her have a tendency to meet an unfortunate end," Ran replied.

"Ho?" Rumia asked.

"So, uh, Ran, what is it that your master sent you out here for today?" Jowa asked.

"Do you still have some wasabi root?" Ran asked.

"Of course. A friend of mine makes sure I don't run out," Jowa replied, pulling out a small jar containing some of the root.

"You're quite consistent. The village markets can never keep a steady supply. Would you be interested in some Outside wares today for payment?" Ran asked.

"No thanks. I had no use for those 'steam engine' parts your master gave you last time. I really don't have need for such things," Jowa replied.

"What's a 'steam engine?'" Rumia asked.

"It's a machine that uses heated water for pushing parts to generate motion. My master finds such things to be of interest," Ran explained.

"Supposedly, her master is a collector of many things from the Outside. Most of which none of us could have any real use for. The only practical thing I've seen come from them are clothes, and they really don't have things that are so different from what can be found here," Jowa said.

"Hm. Well, I don't have that much interest in the works of the humans on the Outside, anyway. From what I hear, they rely too much on machines to do work for them. If that's the case, they must be really weak," Rumia said.

"I wouldn't say they are weak so much as they have a very different way of dealing with things, but I digress. Here you go, Kuki," Ran cut in, while handing Jowa several gold coins for payment.

"Thank you, Miss Ran. Anything else for today? I have some fresh tofu, if you're interested," Jowa said.

"You sure do know how to please a lady, don't you? Alright, I'll buy a little from you. Master didn't forbid me from buying a little something for myself, and your products are always the best," Ran replied.

Jowa smiled while pulling out some tofu, happily taking Ran's payment.

"Have a pleasant day, Miss Ran. Tell your master I said 'hi,'" Jowa said.

"I will. Have a good day Rumia, Jowa," Ran replied before walking back down the path.

Jowa let out a small chuckle. Rumia wondered why, until she realized what was wrong with Ran's parting comment.

"She can see through your disguise?" Rumia asked.

"Only a Nue could see through this disguise. Like she said, her master keeps an eye on anyone of significance throughout Gensokyo. For whatever reason, she thinks of me as one of them," Jowa replied.

"A human being of interest to a powerful youkai?"

"Ran did mention that it's not all about power. I guess it's because of all the youkai I've helped to save over the years, or something. I don't really think of myself as anyone special. I just happen to know a few tricks that have kept me alive over the years."

"Have you ever met her master before?"

"I don't believe so. If I did, I didn't know. She' never once even mentioned her master's name to me, nor have I heard anything about her other than rumors from some youkai circles."

"I can't say I've heard of them before."

"Those with power in the youkai groups tend to stay in the background, rather than staying in front, not wanting to draw too much attention to themselves. At least, that's what one of them told me."

"Who is the strongest youkai you've met?"

"A rather interesting individual. She likes to tease others, both humans and youkai alike, but she makes sure to stay out of the spotlight. Gensokyo isn't technically her home; she lives in a world near to this one. She's thought of coming here before, though. If you hang around me long enough, you'll run into her."

"You don't plan on telling me her name?"

"She's told me to keep her name a secret. She was half laughing when she said it, but given her odd personality, it was rather hard to tell. I can tell you now that I'm no match for her, and she's rather fickle, so I'd rather play it safe for the time being."

"If you insist."

Business was slow throughout the rest of the day. There were a few youkai that came by, asking for various items. Jowa kept stock of many rare and hard to find items. He claimed to have received them from the various youkai he has helped out in the past, but didn't elaborate any further. As the sun set, Jowa prepared to close up his shop for the day.

"Well, that was fun," Jowa said.

"You called dealing with that group of fairies fun?" Rumia asked.

"Fairies will be fairies. At least I was able to get a legitimate sale out of them, even if they were trying to rob me blind."

As Jowa closed up the last of his stand and prepared for his return to his home, he heard screaming coming from further out in the forest.

"Hunters..." Jowa muttered, while setting down the cart, and checking through the spell cards he had with him.

"You plan to go after them, even after what Hikaru told you about resting?" Rumia asked.

"She knows I never listen. I'll be okay, as long as it's not Takashi and his group again. Nue Sign 'Phase Shift!'" Jowa shouted, reverting back to his normal form.

"You want to stay here, or join me? Doesn't matter which," Jowa asked.

"You sure your cart will be okay sitting here?" Rumia asked.

"I've yet to see a fairy succeed in getting that lock open. It's reinforced so that even powerful spells won't break it easily, so don't worry about it."

"Alright. I could use a little more excitement, I suppose. I'd hate to say the highlight of my day was fighting off a band of fairies."

Jowa smiled as he made his way towards the source of the shouting from before. When he arrived, he saw a trail of blood going off further into the forest, and followed it, hoping he wasn't too late the save the youkai being threatened.

"Wah!" a fairy shouted, looking on at the arrow sticking out of her friend's shoulder. The fairy had short, pink hair, and bright red eyes. She was wearing a short sleeved dress made of pink flower petals and had matching sandals, along with white wings that also looked like flower petals.

"It's okay, Manaka, just a scratch," the injured fairy replied. She pulled the arrow out, and used a bit of her magic to seal the wound. She had short, golden blond hair and white eyes. She was wearing a long sleeved white blouse with a yellow vest over it. She had a yellow skirt with white polka dots to go with it, and white sandals. She had yellow translucent wings. Her body was more developed than the others, who appeared to be younger children.

"This group of humans is rather persistent. They are still chasing after us, Haruna," another fairy said. This fairy has long, white hair and gray eyes. She was wearing a white, long sleeved dress, and had white translucent wings and white shoes.

"We should just fly away, Fuwari, they'll never catch us up there!" another fairy shouted. She had short, blue hair and white eyes. She was wearing a long sleeved blue dress with a cloud pattern on it, and sky blue sandals. She had blue translucent wings.

"Aki, they would see us before we got away, it's best to stay low and hide until they pass," a fifth fairy said. She had long, red hair in a ponytail and orange eyes. She was wearing a short sleeved orange dress and hand on red sandals. She had red, translucent wings.

"Reika's approach would be the best choice," Haruna said.

"If you insist," Aki replied. The fairy found herself ducking below an arrow.

"They're getting close again!" Manaka shouted.

"I got them! Take this! Fire Sign 'Rolling Flame!'" Reika shouts. A series of fireballs form on the forest floor, before rolling towards the group chasing after the band of fairies.

"That ought to take care of them!" Reika shouted, while the group increased their speed, hoping to take advantage of their pursuers slowing down to deal with the spell.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Aki asked. Her question was answered with an arrow going through one of her wings. She winced in pain, doing her best to compensate for the changes she needed to make to keep flying.

"Aki! Are you okay!" Manaka shouted.

"That hurt... uh... I can barely fly like this," Aki replied.

"We better find a place to hide. Looks like we're not going to be outrunning them so easily," Haruna said.

"I'll give us some cover, then. 'Wind Sign 'Razor Sharp!'" Fuwari shouted. At the end of her declaration, several blade danmaku formed from the wind before Fuwari. The danmaku blades were sent out for a couple of minutes while the other fairies sought cover.

"Guf!" shouted a man further down the forest. He was wearing a green armor hunter outfit. There were four others like him, and one hunter in a white armor outfit.

"This one is a little better than those little fireballs. This one actually takes some effort to avoid, so watch it," the white hunter, the group's leader, said.

"To think that they actually put a good scratch on my armor with a near miss. If that hit me head on, I'd be in trouble," the first hunter replied.

"I see the one who did that!" another hunter shouted.

"I see her, too. This one is mine! Power Sign 'Iron Barrage!'" the first hunter said. After the spell card burned up, and barrage of iron pellets took form before the hunter. The pellets were the size of adults finger nails. The pellets were sent straight at Fuwari.

Fuwari looked down to see the hunters had spotted her and had already unleashed an attack. She knew she wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time after casing her spell for a full three minutes, but did her best to get down. She was hit by many of the bullets. They quickly tore through her wings, causing her to start crashing towards the ground. Several pellets struck her body, leaving small wounds behind, her white dress quickly stained with blood. As she fell to the ground, she crashed through a tree branch, which broke her right arm, before she finally struck the ground.

The weakened Fuwari looked around, seeing no sign of her friends out in the open.

"_At least they're safe. It looks like I'm not going to make it though. At least we got to have fun with that prank on that merchant earlier, even if we were caught in the end,"_ Fuwari thought to herself. She was lying on her back now, looking up into the sky, and waiting for those chasing her to appear. Within a few moments, the hunters arrived, looking down to see their target.

"Well, what do we have here?" the hunter who was hit earlier said, "Aren't you the cute little monster. Tell me, where did your friends run off to?"

"Sorry, I didn't see where they went," Fuwari replied, before going into a coughing fit. A little blood dribbled down her mouth. The hunter noted her broken arm, and stomped on it, bringing Fuwari more pain. Fuwari, being the most mature of the group, didn't break into a crying fit at the pain or what looked to be her inevitable death. She merely winced again, before looking up into the eyes of the one causing her pain.

"Are you _sure_ you don't know where they went?" the hunter asked, twisting his foot at "sure."

"I was covering for them to find a hiding place, I didn't have a chance to see where they went," Fuwari replied.

"That's a shame, then," the hunter replied, while drawing out his sword.

"I see that you intend to kill me. I'm not going to beg for my life, but at least tell me why you are doing this. That's not too much to ask for, right?" Fuwari said.

"Ho, so you want to know that, hm? I'll give you points for being more strong than the others, but that's about all!" the hunter shouted, before bringing down his sword. Before he could finish his target, though, the hunter in white armor stopped him.

"Huh? Hey, what gives! You a youkai lover now, or something!" the hunter shouted.

"Not at all," the white armored hunter replied, "But I think she deserves an answer for her bravery. One that I'll deliver, since you won't."

The white armored hunter moved forward to Fuwari's prone form, before locking his brown eyes to her white eyes. The other hunters in the group recognized the look, and gave twisted grins at what they knew was about to happen, prompting them to back off.

"It's quite simple. All you beings of magic are abominations of nature. Free manipulation of the elements and nature? What kind of beings should be allowed to harness that power? None. Not to mention what you do with those powers. Pulling pranks on travelers? Stealing food from farmers? Misguiding children so they can't find their way home? Why should we allow such beings to exist in this world? We shouldn't. That's why. But, before that..." the white armored hunter says, while moving to lift up Fuwari's skirt. Fuwari realized what was going on, and tried to fire a small danmaku burst at the man, only to have her hand broken and her face slapped.

"Before I kill you, you're at least going to serve one useful purpose!" the white armored man shouted, while yanking off her bloomers and exposing her personal parts to the world. At this point, Fuwari did cry, wishing for death as opposed to what was about to be brought upon her. The hunter undid his pants, preparing to commit the act, a sadistic grin plastered on his face. Before he could act further, his grin turned to sudden shock.

Fuwari was stunned as the white armored hunter did nothing for a few moments. Then blood sprayed out of the back of his head and he fell forward, dead. The other hunters were stunned, but they were not looking at their fallen leader, they were looking on at the one who killed him, a blond haired youkai wielding a large, black sword.

"You humans are truly disgusting creatures to even think of doing something like that!" Rumia shouted.

The other hunters realized immediately they were no match for a strong youkai like Rumia, and turned to run, only to find Jowa standing before them. They recognized him from the descriptions of his person passed along the ranks of the hunters.

"You truly are the scum of the earth to try to do something like that to an innocent fairy! Fire Sign 'Blast!'" Jowa shouted, sending out a mass barrage of fireball danmaku in front of himself. The hunter in front of Jowa was burned to death quickly, while the others received several burns. Rumia was ready behind them, preparing to hit them with a spell of her own.

"Night Bird Sign 'Feather Blade!'" Rumia shouts. At the end of her declaration, a spread of black feathers appeared. The feathers took the shape of blades, and were sent out towards the hunters. Two of the hunters were killed by the attack. One lost an arm, while the last hunter was able to avoid taking any hits. Rumia quickly finished off the hunter who lost his arm, the man in too much pain to put up any kind of solid defense. The last hunter was frozen between Rumia and Jowa. He knew it was two on one, and there was no possibility of his surviving a fight with the two of them.

"I-I surrender! Please don't kill me!" the hunter shouted.

"You surrender, do you? How many youkai have you killed that asked you the same thing of them?" Jowa asked.

"U-uh... um... I... I... please! I'm sorry! I'll change! Just don't kill me!" the hunter shouted again.

"Very well, then. To prove your point, give me all your weapons and spell cards, and then leave. If I ever see you in that uniform again, I'll kill you where you stand," Jowa replied.

The hunter complied, removing his sword and setting his spell cards on top of it. The man slowly backed away, then ran away from the scene.

"If I can least convince one..." Jowa said, before being interrupted by the sound of metal hitting metal, followed by an explosion behind him. Jowa turned to see Rumia standing behind him, a small knife aimed for his head lying on the ground, and a swell of dark magic dissipating where the fleeing hunter attempted to kill Jowa.

"You're too soft, Jowa. They guy almost killed you," Rumia said.

"Maybe a little, but not naïve, either," Jowa replied, while showing he had formed a sword in his hand, ready to have taken care of the knife himself.

"You should have just killed him right here. You said it yourself; that man and his compatriots were filth. They were going to rape the little one here before killing her. They likely intended the same treatment for her comrades. How could you let anyone like that go free?"

"I have hope for even the darkest of the dark that change may find them before death does. I don't like killing anyone; it removes their chances at redemption."

"If you really want to save anyone, you're going to have to drop that attitude. There are some who are far too tainted to be turned back."

"Perhaps, but that statement in itself implies there are those who it's not too late for," Jowa said, while slowly walking up to Fuwari. She was shaking a little from being nervous over what was about to happen to her. She could only watch the fight stunned. She was still trying to calm down. Jowa gently redressed her, before looking her over.

"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to try and patch you up a bit, okay. It's going to sting a little, but I need to clean these injuries.

Fuwari nodded, and allowed Jowa to take care of her wounds. She winced several times, but didn't cry like the child she appeared to be. Jowa carefully bandaged her wounds. There was nothing he could do for her broken arm and hand, though.

"I lack the supplies needed to fix you the rest of the way. I'll have to take you somewhere to get aid," Jowa said.

"Thank you, but I'll be fine. I just need to find the others," Fuwari said, "If I may ask, who are you?"

"Kurome Jowa, you?"

"I am Fuwari. The one over there... she was there earlier, at the merchant stand... but you weren't... or were you?"

"You're rather sharp. I was using a disguise, so none of those hunters would be able to recognize me."

"After we tried to steal from you, you still helped us out?"

"An attempted theft is hardly a crime worthy of the punishment you were about to receive. It was just a harmless little prank. In the end, I was able to get you guys to buy those cakes from me, so it was worthwhile for me."

"For me, as a woman, I refuse to let such actions take place," Rumia said.

"I see," Fuwari replied.

"Do you know where your friends went?" Jowa asked.

"They shouldn't be too far from here. They were looking for someplace to hide quickly. I just needed to act as the distraction."

"That's very brave of you."

"Not too many of us would stick out for others like that. I suppose fairies seem to get along well with each other, more so than the rest of us," Rumia said.

"We became friends through a series of chance meetings. Over time, we became a little family. I look to them as sisters, and I would never let any harm come to my family," Fuwari stated.

"A family, huh?" Rumia said to herself, thinking over the many years she spent by herself.

Jowa smiled, Fuwari's words reminding him of Hikaru is a part of his "family." Jowa gently held Fuwari over his shoulder, and the group of three went looking for the other fairies. They were found hiding in a tree, which had been made to look like it was solid, but actually had it's entrance hidden by Manaka and her ability.

Fuwari! What happened!" Manaka shouted.

"I lost. Those people, youkai hunters, tried to... do something really bad to me," Fuwari said, not wanting to corrupt the mind of her 'younger' sister.

"Fuwari is okay? Fuwari!" shouted Aki, while she ran out to greet her sister.

"Fuwa! Fuwa's back! Hey, Haruna, Fuwa's alive!" Reika shouted, while running out to see.

Haruna was the last to join. From the look on her face, she had been crying for some time. Her tears coming from the belief that Fuwari was killed.

"Fuwari! My goodness, Fuwari!" Haruna shouted, tears of joy filling her face.

Jowa and Rumia smiled, glad to see the family reunited. Only Haruna seemed to take note of their presence, but was too happy at seeing Fuwari to fully express it.

"Fuwari, you're hurt badly. Let me help you," Manaka said. Manaka cast her hands over Fuwari's arm. A magical glow appeared between her hands as she ran them up and down the length of Fuwari's arm. She did the same for her hand and broken wings.

"_A healer?"_ Jowa and Rumia thought to themselves, surprised at the sight.

"Thank you, Manaka," Fuwari replied, while removing the bandages on her body, revealing the wounds hand indeed healed.

"Fuwari, who are these two?" Haruna asked.

"Hm? Oh, hey, who are these guys?" Manaka asked.

"They look kind of scary," Aki said.

"Hey, isn't she from earlier?" Reika asked.

Fuwari gave an explanation of what had taken place, convincing her family that Jowa and Rumia were good people, and that they had helped to save her life.

"So, you still offered to help us out, even though you were a victim to one of our pranks?" Haruna asked.

"Children pull pranks. Doesn't mean we should exterminate every last one of them," Jowa replied.

"I see. Thank you for saving Fuwari," Haruna replied.

"I just did it as a woman and out of boredom, more than anything. This saving youkai business doesn't suit me," Rumia said.

"I see, well, I thank you all the same, Miss Rumia," Haruna replied.

"You all be careful around here, okay? Those hunters have been causing a lot of problems throughout the area. Just be careful about pulling pranks around here, maybe find somewhere further away from the village," Jowa said.

"There is another village nearby, one that I have been thinking of taking us to. They appear to be much more receptive to youkai than Ozore Village. I think we'll go to the part of the forest around that village. You two be safe as well," Haruna said, before leading her group out.

"Watch out for us fairies, okay?" Manaka said.

"Don't worry, we will," Jowa answered.

"Thank you again for saving me. I'll always remember you, and maybe shop at your stand from time to time," Fuwari said.

"I look forward to it, just don't try to steal anything from me, okay? Especially not tofu. One of my customers is a big fan of it, and she'd get rather upset if my stock was stolen," Jowa explained.

"Okay, we'll just take everything else," Aki said.

"Aki!" Reika shouted, before knocking her on the head. "Sorry, she gets a little too excited about our heists.

"You fairies sure are full of energy, aren't you?" Rumia asked.

"Gotta live for today, because you never know what tomorrow will bring," Haruna said.

"That's rather deep, coming from a fairy," Jowa stated.

"I heard it from another youkai once, one we tried to prank. That's what he told us when he caught us," Haruna replied.

"Well, be mindful of that then. Stay safe!" Jowa shouted.

"Goodbye, Jowa, Rumia!" Fuwari shouted.

The group of five fairies made their way into the deeper parts of the forest, using the coming night to hide themselves from those looking to go after them.

"We should probably get going ourselves. I'm pretty sure Hikaru will throw another fit as it is," Jowa said.

"And she'll probably yell at you for getting into a fight," Rumia added.

"Uh... maybe we should not bring that one up..."

"And then what are you going to tell her? You were out hitting on women, or something?"

"You think that would work?"

"I've been around you for a day and can tell you're not that type. I'm pretty sure someone who has been around you for years, fairy or not, wouldn't buy into a lie like that."

"You're right. Knowing her, she'll figure it out right away. She's just too smart for her own good..."

"Well, at least you didn't get hurt again. You could always tell her that."

"I could, but something tells me that will only make her less mad."

Jowa and Rumia make their way back to where Jowa left his cart. There were a couple of fairies trying to get into it. Rumia was able to quickly scare the pair off with a show of her sword, the pair running off back into the forest. Jowa grabbed the cart and the pair returned to their house to an angry Hikaru waiting for them out front.

"Where have you two been? Making out in the woods, or something!" Hikaru shouted.

"How did you know?" Jowa asked.

Rumia slapped Jowa on the face, followed by another from Hikaru.

"Okay, so that wasn't what I was doing..." Jowa muttered.

"You got into another fight, didn't you?" Hikaru asked.

"I didn't get hurt this time! They were going to rape a fairy. I wasn't going to just sit back and watch."

"Oh... wow... uh... okay, okay, I'll let it go then, but you really need to be careful. All it takes is for you to make one mistake, and that Takashi will show up and kill you, and I don't know what I would do if something were to ever happen to you."

"Don't worry; you're strong, I'm sure you'd manage along without me. Maybe turn this little house into a hangout for lost fairies, or something."

"Don't go talking about things like that. Now come on, your dinner was already starting to get cold as it is. I made some for you, too, Rumia. You do plan on staying for a little while, right?" Hikaru asked.

Rumia thought it over for a moment. She was just passing the time until her outfit was cleaned. She could just as easily grab her outfit and go, rather than spend the night with Jowa again. She was always more of an independent person, not one who needed to rely on others. Then she should about what Fuwari had said earlier about finding a family among her band of fairies.

"_Over time, you became a little family, huh? Well, maybe I could stick around with these two for a little while longer. I don't know about this family thing, but there's never anything wrong with having more friends around, I suppose,"_ Rumia thought to herself.

"Are you staying with us again, tonight, Rumia?" Jowa asked.

"I guess I can. It is rather late already. I'll need a day just to get used to being up at night like I usually am, rather than asleep. And you did already go through the trouble of preparing a meal for me. It would be rather rude of me to leave. One more night won't be the end of me," Rumia replied.

"Then let's go enjoy our dinner. I'm sure Hikaru has prepared something extravagant for us," Jowa said.

"I don't know about that, but I did make sure to season the meat with a few of the nicer spices we have. It came out rather nice, if I do say so myself," Hikaru said, while leading everyone into the living area to dine on the meal she spent the last couple of hours working on. The group enjoyed a nice little meal before retiring for the night, drifting off into a peaceful, restful sleep.

In another part of the forest, there was anything but peace, as Takashi was on another hunt. His men were already lost, much as they always were when he brought low ranking hunters with him on his hunts. It didn't stop Takashi, though. He was now one on one with a youkai. The youkai appeared to be a human male in his early twenties. He had long, blue hair and matching blue eyes. He was slightly muscular, not to the point of being a body builder, but enough to see he had physical strength at his side. He was wearing a gray shirt and black pants.

"Your friends have already been crushed by my power, and yet you continue to persist? I don't know whether I should refer to you as brave or foolish!" the youkai shouted.

"I would call you foolish, rather than brave," Takashi replied.

"Oh, so you have a personality, do you? Alright then, that's fine. I'll just crush you the same way I crushed the others! Gravity Sign 'Weight of the World!'" the youkai shouted.

Takashi knew right away to move at the end of the declaration. At first, it seemed as though nothing happened. A careful glance at the ground would reveal the grass is being crushed, as though it had a weight dropped upon it. Takashi continued to charge towards his opponent, who could only smile in return.

"That's it, walk right into the my trap! Repel 'Shockwave!'" the youkai shouted. At the end of the declaration, a force as strong as that of gravity was sent out in all directions from the youkai. The bodies of the deceased, their weapons, and everything else in range of the attack where thrown back. Takashi quickly pulled out a chain with a pike at its end into the ground. The pike had an amulet on it, designed to give the pike extra force when thrown. The pike sunk a couple of feet into the ground. Takashi attached the chain to his armor, while pulling out one of his swords to deflect anything that was thrown at him. Takashi was forced to cut the body of one of his fallen hunters in half in order to avoid being hit by it as the spell continued. The gravity manipulating youkai was struggling to increase the power behind the spell, not believing Takashi had found a way to withstand it. Within a couple of moments, the spell gained enough power to start tearing away at the ground beneath the youkai. Dust and rocks began to fly through the air towards Takashi, who struggled to pull out a spell of his own.

"Iron Sign 'Steel Barrier!'" Takashi shouted. A wall of transparent metal appeared before Takashi. It appeared to be made of glass, but the sounds made when the small rocks and stones began hitting it indicated what the material actually was. Some of the larger stones started to put dents into the barrier, slowly beginning to weaken it. Takashi saw this, as the gravity youkai continued to increase the power of his spell.

"You won't survive much longer! No human can withstand the full force of my power!" the youkai shouted in glee, happy to have a chance to show off his full power.

"Wrath Sign 'Mach Strike!'" Takashi shouted, while holding his sword forward. After the card burned away, Takashi gained the ability to move forward against the force of the wave. If it weren't for the wave hitting him, Takashi could have easily ran into the youkai within a blink of an eye. Takashi was moving forward at running speed, the gravity youkai not believing what he was seeing.

"Impossible! No human should be able to harness that level of magic!" the gravity youkai shouted, again increasing the power of his spell. The youkai was starting to get winded, the strain of using the spell starting to catch up to him. Takashi continued to advance, with the youkai starting to panic. Takashi was only a few feet from the youkai, prompting him to force the last of his magic into the spell.

"Die!" shouted the youkai, before suddenly being cut off. The youkai's expression turned from one of rage to one of shock and surprise. The youkai looked down to see Takashi's sword going straight through him. At the last second, Takashi's speed increased, allowing him to overwhelm the spell of the gravity youkai. The spell broke as soon as the youkai was hit, returning everything to normal. The youkai settled into the small crater he had created be he began to cough up blood, before looking straight into Takashi's eyes.

"You're not human... there's no way..." the youkai muttered.

"I'm a human, freak. A human who knows more about magic then most of your kind could ever hope to learn. And to think you were born of magic. What an insult it must be to see a human use the element that gave birth to you with a greater mastery than you could ever hope to achieve!" Takashi shouted, before pulling out his second sword, and slicing his opponents head in two. Blood spattered all over Takashi. Takashi quickly pulled out a vial before the body of the youkai turned to magic sparks. As it did, Takashi collected the magic sparks into the vial, before they could fade away into the atmosphere of Gensokyo. Takashi quickly corked it, the magic dust settling inside the vial and maintaining it's glow.

"Mission accomplished," Takashi said, while putting the vial back into it's hiding place within his armored outfit. Takashi smiled to himself as he made his return to the village.

"Another youkai taken care of, another step closer to our goal," Takashi said to himself, an evil grin forming as he continued along.


End file.
